Day in the Life of a Graphic Designer: 20 Tips for a Graphic Designer
From discussions on the same over at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, a graphic designer is a professional who creates visual content with the intent of communicating a message. They typically design posters, websites, billboards, packaging, logos, and other marketing and advertising designs. If you are wondering what a day in the life of a graphic designer looks like, then this article has got you covered.
Emails
As per RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, the day for a graphic designer typically starts by logging into Gmail or Outlook to see if the mail list has been lengthened or if there has been an email from a client about revisions, requesting updates, and so forth.
Preparing your schedule
Once you are fully caught up on your emails, the next task is to prepare your schedule for the day ahead. This is where you prepare your daily plan by prioritizing important tasks, usually whichever ones have the closest deadlines. The schedule may include things like client meetings, responding to clients, arranging meetings with partners in your design firm or industry, etc.
Group meetings
Some design firms or workplaces like to have a quick meeting about the status of everyone’s work, any ongoing issues, and any announcements that need to be made. According to RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, in these meetings, things like project deadlines and problems with clients take precedence over other matters.
Meeting with clients
After updating clients on tasks and deliveries, you will then often meet up with new or returning clients about new projects as well as to discuss the design process and their expectations. This is where you also meet with existing clients to discuss the progress of ongoing projects.
Time for reflection
While some designers love to dive right into their ongoing projects, others prefer taking some time to reflect on their work to get a fresh new perspective. Often in creative roles, it can be very easy to fall into tunnel-vision mode when working on something, which is why taking a step back and reevaluating choices can be so effective.
Collaboration between colleagues
As articulated at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, designers are still part of a team, which helps boost productivity and keeps them grounded in practice. Coordinating with other team members is critical to keeping things on track.
Coming up with rough work
Instead of diving straight in, you will likely begin each project with a notebook where you will paint all of the designs you have in mind and then choose the best part from a slew of them. Rough work is an important part of a graphic designer’s process during the workday.
Working with tech
Graphic designers don’t just work with paper but they also work with some pretty sophisticated software as captured at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. They include applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, CorelDraw, Art & Sketching, and many others, which will all be a major part of your day.
Revisions
Revisions are considered to be the most important time of the day. Designers wait for the one acceptance after fruitful hours of brainstorming and delivering the finished product. This is where you show your work to the client to get feedback on colors, style, logo, photographs, typography, placement, and so on; you wait for a response, then make the requisite revisions.
Pin-prompts
Once a portion of the assignment, or even the whole task, is completed, you send it to the art directors and client for analysis. If it is given the go-ahead, you must create a print-ready file, which is another task that will eat up a portion of your workday.
Collaborating with other experts
Graphic designers don’t just work with other designers, but with other experts as well during the design process covered at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. During your workday, you will collaborate with a team of copywriters, illustrators, web developers, account executives, project managers, and communications experts, depending on the project’s complexity.
Concept briefs
Following the client debriefing, your innovative thinking as a graphic designer is put to use. You will need to brainstorm and create concept briefs to send to the client. However, even the most creative concept briefs must adhere to budget and time constraints.
Production
As a graphic designer, you will begin production as soon as the client gives the go-ahead as described at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. The production stage of your workday usually comes at the tail-end of the creative process.
Certifications
There is no denying that if you have a bunch of related accreditations and certifications, it makes you a more attractive prospect as a graphic designer, both to employers as well as to clients if you are a freelancer. Taking some time to work towards these certifications is, therefore, worth considering.
Portfolio
A portfolio is always the most revealing showcase of a designer’s skill. You can talk a good game, but if your portfolio isn’t congruent with what you are saying, then clients will likely avoid you. Therefore, you should take time during the day to update your portfolio, particularly if you are a freelancer.
Keeping up with industry standards
Not only should a graphic designer showcase their experience and skill through a solid portfolio, but they should also be familiar with industry-standard applications such as Adobe InDesign, and Photoshop, among others, discussed at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. Existing software is regularly updated while new software hits the market almost daily, and it is your job to keep up with all these changes.
Be aware of deadlines
Time management skills are crucial for a graphic designer. During your workday, you will notice that you often have to juggle several tasks at once. This is why you must be aware of deadlines to ensure that clients don’t end up being disappointed.
Design meetings
Most firms also hold weekly design meetings as revealed at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. These are held to discuss any upcoming updates, brainstorm design ideas, and plan events. Depending on the day of the week, you might have to attend such a meeting.
Content creation
If you can spare time, you may also be required to publish a blog article or content on the firm’s social media handles to help with SEO. As a subject matter expert, your role in creating content related to graphic design is very much appreciated.
Finishing up
When the day is coming to an end, everyone in the team is required to send out updates about their work as well as emails informing their team about anything important before heading out. If there are no fires to put out, then you are done for the day.
When it comes to a day in the life of a graphic designer, these are some of the things you can expect, with more insights on this topic, and much more, to be found over at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.